App will be 'integral' to new console

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Second screen central

Microsoft seems to be getting all of its ducks in a row ahead of Friday's Xbox One launch after rolling out the new console's second screen companion app, SmartGlass, across the major mobile platforms.

The new and improved version of SmartGlass, which can be used as a remote and a controller, to watch DVR clips on the go, browse Xbox Live and interact with friends, landed on Windows Phone on Tuesday.

As the day progressed, the free download turned up on Google Play and, as the evening came to a close, up popped SmartGlass on the App Store for iOS devices.

Gamers will also be able to use SmartGlass for Xbox One to browse the Xbox Store, read and reply to messages, and pin content to view on the console, as part of the improved functionality.

'Almost magical'

Back in September TechRadar spoke with Ron Pessner, the man behind the SmartGlass app, who enthused about the new speedier connection, which is 3.5x faster than the Xbox 360 version.

"The pairing should feel almost magical," he said. "It should be really delightful, like when you take your laptop home and it automatically connects to your Wi-Fi.

"As proud of we are of the Xbox 360 SmartGlass one of the main pieces of feedback was around the connection latency time – but now it should feel instantaneous."

Unfortunately, expectant Xbox One fanciers will have to wait until Friday at the earliest in order to give the smarter, speedier SmartGlass a spin for themselves.